Sociology of Identity and Social Constructionism

Practice vocabulary flashcards covering institutional power, the social construction of identity, reflexivity, shared narratives, and audience dependency as discussed in the lecture.

Mechanism of Control

Foucault's concept that institutional practices such as grading, categorizing, and monitoring serve to exert authority over individuals, despite being presented as humane or helpful.

Reflexivity

The capacity of an individual to push back against, question, or negotiate the identities and labels that society and institutions impose on them.

Social Constructionism

The sociological perspective holding that the self, knowledge, morality, and reality are social products created collectively by society rather than pre-existing, objective truths.

Goffman's View of Identity

The theoretical position that an individual's identity is defined entirely by what they are actively doing and performing.

Foucault's View of Identity

The theoretical position that an individual's identity depends on external institutions or organizations officially granting, validating, and legitimizing that status.

Cultural Toolkit

A set of pre-existing cultural concepts, categories, and boundaries that exist prior to an individual's birth and constrain what roles or identities they can socially claim.

Shared Stories

Collective narratives referenced by Irvine that people tell to themselves and others in social interaction to negotiate, claim, and achieve a recognized identity.

Truth as a Relationship

Gergen's idea that objective facts, rationality, and morality do not exist in isolation, but are relational agreements that people collectively accept and construct.

Power of Language

The ability of specific words to evoke mental images, visceral feelings, and shared cultural meanings beyond the literal definition of the words themselves.

Narrated Conditions

The concept that even when a condition or trait exists, the meaning, stigma, or value assigned to it is socially constructed and communicated through cultural narratives.

Five-Part Formula

A standardized narrative structure identified by Irvine that individuals in recovery or support groups are expected to adopt to validate their identity, often requiring a history of childhood abuse and a moment of crisis.

Rock Bottom

A standard cultural narrative requirement within addiction recovery spaces like Narcotics Anonymous (NA) that members are expected to have experienced to claim an authentic identity in the program.

Audience Dependency

Irvine's thesis stating that how individuals behave, perform their identities, and frame their personal stories changes according to the specific audience they are with.

Identity Feedback Loop

The interactive cycle in which an audience's validation (such as social media engagement) encourages an individual to repeat specific behaviors and internalize those reinforced traits as part of their true self.